Forever Sky
by xxMaplestar
Summary: A new and mysterious cat is welcomed into SunClan, and everyone trusts her as if she was Clanborn. But two apprentices, Skypaw and Everpaw, feel that this cat knows more than she is letting on. Rated T for safety. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A dark she-cat padded on through the dark forest stopping here and there to scent for prey. Not much prey was in this part of the island, but she had no choice. It was almost time and she couldn't give up on her plan. Continuing her journey, the cat walked forward.

Through the thick leaves, she could just barely make out a half moon. Yes, it really was almost time. In just half a moon she would put her plan into action. Smiling to herself, the she-cat kept her pace. She then came across a sweet scent that she recognized as mouse. She followed it until she saw the small, shadowy figure nibbling on something just a tail-length away from her nose. Silently, the she-cat sprang and with a swift bite to its neck she killed it.

The warm taste of blood reached her mouth, and she savored every second of it. Once she was out of this forest, there would be more prey—hopefully.

The cat had never really been far outside from the forest, but she had been to the edge of it. She knew that other cats lived on the beach and on another part of the island, so there must be plenty of prey outside this forest. No cat had been in this forest for many moons now—all except for her.

She had stayed in this forest and kept her promise to her great-grandfather. He was a muscular brown tom with amber eyes—just like her. She wouldn't give up on her kin, and soon it was time to prove how worthy she really was. Suddenly, she heard a whisper coming from the wind.

"_You aren't going to back out on me, are you?_" it said.

"No, I won't," the she-cat meowed.

"_Good, you're not like _them." It said the word 'them' with such burning hatred that it almost winded the she-cat.

"I promised," she said.

"_It'll all be worth it in the end,_" the voice continued. "_You're a brave cat, and I see a lot of me in you. You will go on to do many great things."_ Hearing these words from this voice made the she-cat pelt tingle with happiness. She realized whose meow this was, and replied:

"Thank you, Tigerstar."

**Ooo, the dreaded Tigerstar? Could it really be? Who is this she-cat and what is she up to? Read on to find out!**


	2. Allegiances

**Hi again! I know I start a lot of stories, but I promise that this will be the last one until I finish at least one more of my others. Anyway, here is the summary:**

**Summary: **Two Cans, SunClan and MoonClan, had been rivals a long time ago, but are now living in peace. When a strange cat appears on their island home, most everyone trusts her. All except two apprentices: Skypaw and Everpaw.

**I'm not really sure how the rest of the story is going to go, and I don't want to get you all so excited if it doesn't turn out the way I say (hints at Black Sapphire), so I'll just go with the flow. Trust me; it'll be better than it sounds! So please read and find out. R&R and I'll luff you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the idea of Warriors (Erin Hunter did), but I did come up with these characters and the island that they live on.**

**ALLIEGIANCES**

**S U N C L A N**

Leader

Midnightstar—black she-cat with yellow eyes and white toes

Deputy

Opalfire—dark gray she-cat with white tail tip and clear blue eyes

Medicine Cat

Froststream—pale gray she-cat with white underbelly and gray-blue eyes

Warriors

Dawnflame—reddish tabby she-cat

Palmleaf—brown tabby tom with dark green eyes (Apprentice, Everpaw)

Maplecrescent—brown she-cat with darker spots and amber eyes (Apprentice, Skypaw)

Yarrowspike—light gray tom with yellow eyes

Sharpfang—orange tom with white underbelly and tail tip; unusually sharp fangs

Sesameclaw—black she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice, Freepaw)

Emberspark—dark orange (almost red) she-cat with amber eyes (Apprentice, Cedarpaw)

Hibiscusflower—slender orange tabby she-cat with moss green eyes

Dogwood—orange tom with brown eyes

Apprentices

Everpaw—white she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

Skypaw—gray tom with sky-colored eyes, white front paws and muzzle; darker gray specks along body

Cedarpaw—brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Freepaw—gray and white she-cat

Queens

Solarflare—white she-cat with grayish eyes; mother of Yarrowspike's kits: Silverkit (silver tabby she-cat), Rainkit (dark gray tabby tom)

Bellcloud—orange tabby she-cat with yellow eyes; mother of Palmleaf's kits: Berrykit (red tabby tom), Leafkit (dark brown tabby she-cat), Shiningkit (brown tabby she-cat, yellow eyes)

Elders

Moonrise—pure white she-cat with blue eyes; deaf but can read lips

**M O O N C L A N**

Leader

Flamestar—red tabby tom with light green eyes

Deputy

Riverheart—pale brown she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice, Sunpaw)

Medicine Cat

Goldenspeckle—golden pelted she-cat with brown specks down back (Apprentice, Blackpaw)

Blackpaw—pure black tom with pink nose

Warriors

Icespirit—white she-cat with pale gray stripes

Breezefall—black tom with white chest and tail tip (Apprentice, Birdpaw)

Junglefern—brown tabby tom with dark green eyes

Grasstail—brown tom with fluffy tail and green eyes

Vinecrest—dark gray tom with very thin tail and white chest (Apprentice, Clearpaw)

Oceanfoot—sandy-colored she-cat with brown paws and blue eyes (Apprentice, Creampaw)

Ivoryclaw—silver tabby tom with amber eyes

Sandstream—orange tabby she-cat

Forestheart—very dark brown tom with pale green eyes

Apprentices

Birdpaw—blue/gray she-cat with black ears and paws

Creampaw—cream-colored tom with amber eyes

Clearpaw—pale gray she-cat

Sunpaw—golden tom with amber eyes

Queens

Kiwifeather—black she-cat with orange eyes; mother of Junglefern's kits: Riverkit, Honeykit, Cherrykit

Elders

Horizonsun—orange she-cat with darker stripes

Snowowl—pure white she-cat with amber eyes


	3. Chapter One: Rebellion

**Chapter One: Rebellion**

A small, gray tom with a white muzzle blinked awake in the morning sunlight. The sky was a prefect blue this morning, just like his eyes. Above him hung huge the huge ferns that acted as the shelter for the apprentice's den. Around him were a few other cats. First there was Everpaw, his best friend, a white she-cat with one blue eye and one green eye; then there was Cedarpaw, a brown tabby tom whom the gray tom didn't get along with too well; and finally there was Freepaw, a pretty gray and white she-cat that was Cedarpaw's close friend and also the gray tom's sister.

The gray tom stretched his white paws out in front of him and parted his jaws in a huge yawn. He groomed the darker specks along his back and then made his way out into the main clearing. It was a sunny day, and the night of a gathering. The gray cat, who had just been apprenticed the day before, was sure that he was to go to the Gathering tonight with Everpaw. She had also been made an apprentice the night before.

Today would be the gray tom's first lesson, and he would probably get a tour of the territory with his mentor, Maplecrescent, a brown she-cat with darker spots. Excitement flowing through his body, the tom went over to the fresh-kill pile. He stopped when he got to it though, and thought that since he was most likely going to go hunting later with Maplecrescent, that he should save his appetite for then. So he decided to sit at the edge of the clearing until Everpaw woke up. He examined the SunClan camp in the time that he was waiting.

They lived on a sandy beach, where the sun always hit, which earned them their name. Most of their camp was as far from the water as they could get, in case of high tide. Farthest from the water was the nursery, a hollowed out tree stump. Inside the stump were ferns from the plants found in the forest a little ways off from the camp.

Second farthest from the water was the apprentices den, a few logs formed into a semi-circle and sheltered by a huge fern. Then, there came the medicine cat den, a somehow hollowed out stone. It was big enough to fit the medicine cat, Froststream, and her apprentice (if she had one); plus, all of her herbs. Almost the closest to the water was the warriors den. It wasn't much—just a sandy area with plants and bushes for the shelter. Most of the warriors liked to sleep out under the stars, so there wasn't much need for an elaborate roof. The closest to the water, so she could keep lookout over the camp was the leader, Midnightstar's, den.

Pretty soon the camp began to bustle with activity. Cats came out of their dens to go out on patrols and have a bite to eat. The gray tom hopped to his paws when he saw a tired white she-cat emerge out of the apprentice's den. She looked up and gazed at him with her different colored eyes before calling out, "Skypaw!" and coming to great him.

"'Morning, Everpaw," Skypaw purred as this touched muzzles.

"Today is going to be our first day training!" she meowed excitedly.

"And it's also going to be out first Gathering," Skypaw pointed out. Everpaw's eyes grew slightly wider.

"Oh, yea, I totally forgot," she admitted. Then a grin spread across her face as she cocked her head to the side. "I wonder when Midnightstar will announce who's going?" Skypaw shrugged.

"Until then, want to go see if our mentors will show us how to hunt?" he suggested, feeling his belly rumble with hunger.

"Sure," Everpaw mewed, and the two of them bounced off to the warriors den. When they reached it, they glanced around for their mentors. Neither Maplecrecent nor Palmleaf, Everpaw's mentor, were among the cats. Skypaw heard his friend heave a sigh as her tail drooped.

"Maybe they just went on a patrol?" he meowed, trying to reassure her.

"I hope they're back soon," she responded, as they went back out into the main clearing. "What are we supposed to do until then?" Skypaw thought for a moment. Then he gave a quick shrug, admitting his defeat. As soon as he did so, five cats came pouring into the clearing, obviously the dawn patrol. Skypaw managed a grin as he saw a spotted pelt among them, along with Palmleaf's striped, brown tabby fur.

"Wow, just on time," Everpaw said with an amazed blink.

"Cool," Skypaw added, walking over to the returning cats. Besides for Maplecrescent and Palmleaf, there were three other cats: Hibiscusflower, a slender orange tabby she-cat; Yarrowspike, a light gray tom; and Opalfire, a dark gray she-cat with a white tail-tip and clear blue eyes, also the SunClan deputy. Opalfire immediately dashed to Midnightstar's den, and Skypaw strange urge of curiosity to know why.

As if reading his thoughts, Everpaw said, "I wonder what happened?" Skypaw could see why she would think this; the four cats that were left to go back to the warriors den looked worried, as if something bad had happened on the patrol.

"I bet Midnightstar will hold a meeting after Opalfire explains," Skypaw meowed. Everpaw shrugged with agreement. Both of them headed off to the apprentices den, waiting for the announcement to be made. They shared tongues until that time—but it didn't come.

Ay sunhigh, Maplecrescent and Palmleaf walked into the apprentices den.

"Want to go hunting, you two?" Palmleaf meowed to Everpaw and Skypaw. Skypaw's belly let out a hungry growl, and Maplecrescent smiled.

"I'm sure they do," she answered for them. Skypaw saw his friend open her mouth as if about to say something, but then close it. "C'mon, let's go." Everpaw and Skypaw exchanged a glance and then followed the older cats out of the cover of the ferns. Cedarpaw and Freepaw remained behind.

**xXxXx**

On their part of the forest, the four cats began to scent for prey. Under the trees it was darker, and Skypaw knew that that was why MoonClan was called what it was—their territory was completely under

the shelter of the trees. Breathing in deeply, Skypaw caught the scent of a bird among the many other smells.

"Bird," he told his mentor. She nodded, and Skypaw began to stalk, just the way that she had told him to do. He kept his tail down, and all of his weight off his front paws. Soon he heard the rustle of leaves, which told him that the prey wasn't too far away. Walking slower, he then saw the small, fat black kiwi bird hopping around, pecking at the ground for food. Hardly breathing, Skypaw crept a mouselength closer, and the sprang. He landed on top of the plump bird, who let out a call of alarm. Skypaw killed it then, and brought it back to Maplecrescent.

"Very good!" she praised. "But next time," her voice became slightly stern, "try not to let it call out. Now it had just alerted most of the prey in the area." Skypaw lowered his head with shame at such a careless mistake, but then his mentor tapped his shoulder with her tail.

"Don't worry," she purred. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I made the same mistake when I was an early warrior." Skypaw blinked. Maplecrescent was one of the best hunters in all of SunClan! Could she really have made the same mistake as he had? Lightening up a bit, Skypaw held his head high.

"Now that we have all caught somwthing," Palmleaf meowed, glancing around at the prey that each cat held, including Everpaw, "we should probably go back. Plus there's no use in hunting anymore," he added, with a quick look at Skypaw. His ears warmed, and Everpaw flicked him with her tail.

"He's just joking," she assured him. Skypaw blinked with gratitude and the group made their way back to the sandy camp. When they got there, Midnightstar was finishing up hat seemed like a Clan meeting. Skypaw's neck fur bristled at the thought of missing it.

"…and that is who will be going to the Gathering tonight," she said to the crowd of cats before her. She bowed her head and padded away to her den. Skypaw, Everpaw, Maplecrescent, and Palmlead all put their catches in the fresh kill pile, which was no comfortably stocked, and went separate ways, along with the rest of the cats in the clearing.

Skypaw and Everpaw made their way to the apprentices den after Cedarpaw and Freepaw. Cedarpaw seemed grumpier than usual, and this time, Freepaw seemed a bit depressed as well.

"What's wrong?" Everpaw asked Freepaw, sitting beside the gray she-cat.

"Who's going to the Gathering?" Skypaw asked Cedarpaw out of curiosity. Cedarpaw glared at him.

"None of _us _are going," he snapped.

"What do you mean?" Skypaw asked, seeing out of the corner of his eye Everpaw talking with his sister.

"Midnightstar said that none of the apprentices are allowed to go tonight," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Why not?" Skypaw asked.

"Will you quit asking questions already?" Cedarpaw growled, surprising Skypaw with his fierceness. Then again, Cedarpaw always did think that he was the toughest apprentice, and so he tried to act it. But Freepaw told him that Cedarpaw did have a softer side.

Cedarpaw stalked out of the den, causing Skypaw to blink. What had he done?

"Freepaw?" Skypaw meowed, turning his head to his sister.

"Oh, don't mind him," she sighed. "He's just upset because we can't go."

"But why?" he was about to ask, until she beat him to it.

"On the dawn patrol, the cats smelled a strange scent near the forbidden part of the island, and they weren't sure what it was. So in case it's some kind of vicious animal, Midnightstar doesn't want to jeopardize the lives of the apprentices by taking them out to Gathering." Freepaw talked as if she understood Midnightstar's decision completely, but was still a little bummed out by it. But of course, that was just like Freepaw. She always went along with the flow, and never argued, which earned her the name Freepaw.

"I better go see if I can get Cedarpaw to cheer up," she meowed, and walked out from under the ferns. Everpaw turned to Skypaw.

"I guess we're not going to Gathering after all," she said softly, her ears flattening against her head and her whisker drooping. Suddenly, Skypaw had an idea.

"Yea, we are," he told her. Her multicolored eyes spread wide with curiosity and her ears pricked up.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "How?" Skypaw's eyes glinted with mischief. "Oh! You're not think of…?!"

"Yep," Skypaw purred.

"No!" Everpaw hissed.

"We're going to sneak in."

**Yay! This is the longest chapter I've ever written on fanfiction—I'm so happy! Please review!**


End file.
